To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.
Brain Teasers:
Which British actress, born in 1934, was considered a "sexy actress" in a 1959 movie before making a film in Italy in 1961?
Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Sylvia Syms of EXPRESSO BONGO.
What was the first movie that Jack Palance shot in Italy?
Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was director Abel Gance's AUSTERLITZ in 1960.
What was the last movie that Jack Palance shot in Italy?
I know that the date of release doesn't necessarily correspond to when a film was produced, but Jack Palance had five films released in Italy in 1976: SQUADRA ANTISCIPPO, aka THE COP IN BLUE JEANS opened on March 11 - and was George Grimes' guess. EVA NERA, aka BLACK COBRA opened on August 5. SAFARI EXPRESS opened on September 25. I PADRONI DELLA CITTA, aka MR. SCARFACE opened on December 3 and was Bertrand van Wonterghem's and Angel Rivera's guess. SANGUE DI SBIRRO, aka KNELL BLOODY AVENGER opened on December 11, so I figure it was the last movie Palance shot in Italy.
What was the last Western the Jack Palance made with an Italian director?
Bertrand van Wonterghem and Angel Rivera knew that it was DIAMANTE LOBO, aka GOD'S GUN, made in Israel by director Frank Kramer, aka Gianfranco Parolini.
And now for some new brain teasers:
Which Italian film director worked with Boris Karloff, Ugo Tognazzi, Jerome Courtland, Horst Frank, Yoko Tani, Richard Harrison, George Martin and Brad Harris?
Which actor, born in Venezuela in 1925, appeared in at least 20 Italian Westerns?
Which Italian actor reportedly attended the Actors Studio in New York before returning to Italy to make his first movie in 1953?
Name the movies from which these images came.
George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's photo of Jack Palance in IL MERCENARIO, aka THE MERCENARY, aka A PROFESSIONAL GUN.
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
Bertrand van Wonterghem and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Lee Van Cleef and Rene Abadeza in GEHEIMCODE WILDGANZE, aka CODE NAME WILDGEESE
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
George Grimes identified last week's photo of Jackie Chan in THE SHADOWS EDGE
Above is a new photo.
Can you name from what movie it came?
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I am interested in knowing what movies you have watched and what you enjoyed or not. So please send me an email at scinema@earthlink.net if you'd like to share. Here's what I watched last week:
Enjoyed:
Weeds season seven (2011)
Bosch Legacy (2024) - Three seasons of the excellent follow-up to Bosch. Now, on to Ballard.
JIGSAW (1962) - While I was disappointed to find that the JIGSAW with which I had a copy was not the 2017 reboot of the SAW series, I took heart that it was a crime film directed by Val Guest. Guest had made 13 wonderful films for Hammer, the last being the excellent HELL IS A CITY in 1960, so JIGSAW was sure to be a palate cleanser after a series of films I hated. It was featuring the brisk no-nonsense storytelling most of his earlier films featured. Guest adapted his screenplay from Hillary Waugh's novel SLEEP LONG, MY LOVE, the first of his series of Detective Fred Fellows books. Being a British production, the locale of the story was moved from the fictional town of Stockford, Connecticut to an area around Brighton in England. Reportedly, the film followed the novel closely. The film began with the beautiful Moira Redmond - who would later make NIGHTMARE for Hammer in 1964, telling the unseen man in her bed that she was pregnant. Naturally, with the camera as his P.O.V., he moved menancingly towards her. Detective Sgt. Ronald Lewis - who made two films for Hammer in 1960, one directed by Val Guest - was called to the scene of a burglary at a property leasee shop. Eventually he was joined by his boss, Detective Inspector Jack Warner - who had previously worked with Guest and Hammer for 1955's THE QUATERMASS XPERIMENT - to investigate a leased home in which Redmond's dismembered body was found. Guest was keen to make JIGSAW because it was "very unusual, to show the police working and not getting anywhere. The awful dead ends they come up against which is what that picture shows." In taking an almost documentary approach - without needlessly shaking the camera, Guest presented a convincingly realistic portrait of police work, though everyone spoke rather rapidly. Because the police often run into "dead ends", the film may seem rather drawn out to many fans of cop movies. But it did come to a satisfactory conclusion. John Le Mesurier, who had previously appeared in the Hammer version of THE HOUSE OF THE BASKERVILLES, got one of the best scenes of his career in a small role. Yolande Donlan was married to director Guest and they made eight films together, though none for Hammer. Michael Goodliffe had made three Hammer films with director Guest, and THE GORGON without him. Brian Oulton made two Hammer Films without Guest. Ray Barrett would go on to make THE REPTILE for Hammer. Norman Chappell, Reginald Marsh, Timothy Bateson and John Barron had appeared in Guest's THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE in the previous year. Geoffrey Bayldon made three Hammer films, two with Guest.
Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On the World (2025) - The title of this CNN documentary series is a bit extravagant, but the program is quite fascinating. I wasn't a big fan of the "Do They Know It's Christmas" event, and always felt that "We Are the World" was African-American musicians being embarrassed that it was Europeans trying to end famine in Africa. Live Aid had too many mainstream performers to ignite my interest, but hearing Bob Geldof explain that his idea was to get the most successful performers on the stage to attract the biggest audience made sense. I had no idea how hard getting this on was, and the story of Birhan Woldu was very moving. When Live Aid 2 happened, it seemed like more of the same. The real eye-opener of this series was the behind-the-scenes story of Live 8 which had given me a whole new respect for President George W. Bush.
Did not enjoy:
THE BETSY (1978) - You can't fault the producers of this turkey for not hiring talented people. Director Daniel Petrie won acclaim for his TV work on Eleanor and Franklin, Sybil and Eleanor and Franklin:The White House Years. I'm guessing that it was his idea to get Edward Herrmann and Jane Alexander into this cast. Unfortunately, while hiring the "World's Greatest Actor", Laurence Olivier, may have been a prestigious effort, no one stopped Olivier from giving perhaps the worst performance of his career, but with this material was that unexpected? I think the filmmakers may have hoped to turn Harold Robbins' novel into THE GODFATHER set in the U.S. automobile industry - and some of the murders look similar. Having another respected actor like Robert Duvall in the cast also brought a comparison to mind. When this was made, Tommy Lee Jones looked to become a big star. Movies like this cooled his trajectory. One can't help but wonder what respected writer Walter Bernstein thought about adapting a Harold Robbins book, but it would seem right in line with co-writer William Bast's career, as he would create the primetime soap The Colbys a few years later. The beautiful Kathleen Beller had a small role in THE GODFATHER PART II before television work like Search For Tomorrow. She did a couple of "serious movies" like PROMISES IN THE DARK and FORT APACHE THE BRONX, before returning to TV soaps like Dynasty. Also wasted in the cast are Katharine Ross, Lesley-Anne Down, Joseph Wiseman and Titos Vandis. Cameraman Mario Tosi, who shot Sybil, brought a fog filter look to this film, not unlike what he did with director Brian De Palma's CARRIE. Even hiring John Barry to do the music didn't improve the film.
TWICE IN A LIFETIME (1985) - I think a better title for this would be SYMPATHY FOR THE UNFAITHFUL HUSBAND. This was Colin Weiland's next project after writing CHARIOTS OF FIRE, but it would seem to have been a personal project for producer/director Bud Yorkin. In 1984, he divorced his wife of 30 years, with whom he had two children. He failed to find a studio willing to finance TWICE, so he raised the money independently using his stake in Tandem Productions which he created with Norman Lean in 1958 and proved wildly successful with TV shows like All In the Family and Sanford and Son. Factory worker Gene Hackman had a loving home life with wife Ellen Burstyn and daughters Amy Madigan and Ally Sheedy, but he fell in love with bar maid Ann-Margret and blew it all up. The film ends with Hackman sheepishly attending Sheedy's wedding so that he had a slight reconciliation with one daughter before not going to the reception and walking away alone. On the plus side, Burstyn, Madigan, Sheedy and Ann-Margret all look marvelous.
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Angel Rivera Highly enjoyed:
Great music; if you like the standards. Julie Andrews is in top form. The movie is still enjoyable even if it is slightly fictionalized. (Or idealized! Take your pick.) For ex. we now know that the Trapp family left Austria by train and not climbing over the Austrian Alps, But it does make for a great song. ["Climb Every Mountain" along with "Do-Re-Mi"; "A Few of My Favorite Things"; and of course "The Sound of Music"!] A classic movie musical!
"THE OUTER LIMITS" S1; E1: The Galaxy Being" (1963)
My all-time favorite Sci-Fi TV series is the original "Outer Limits" (1963-4). "The Galaxy Being" served as the pilot episode and its premiere episode. Stars Cliff Robertson as the owner of a small radio station whose equipment and radio frequency he uses for broadcasting "microwaves" into the ether and one day he picks up a signal from out there. The Andromeda system to be exact. He is able to receive a 3D image of the being he has contacted. The problem is if the signal is increased all hell will break out. Robertson has to leave his power shed to attend a banquet in his honor. Enter the substitute DJ hired to keep the station's programs airing. He is told not touch the power knobs and to keep the station's output where it is. Wanting to increase the signal so he can reach a wider area of audience. He turns the dial to up. The being that Robertson had been communicating with is suddenly thrust into our world. What happens next is where the story really gets interesting. I consider this a classic of Sci-Fi TV.
Enjoyed:
Scarlett Johansson (the highest paid actress in the world right now) leads a rag-tag team of mercenaries and others which includes Academy Award winner Mahershala Ali back to where Jurassic Park began. That is where the creatures were synthesize and they need to get some DNA samples of the surviving dinosaurs. Not to gory or graphic, but one can sit there trying to determine which members of the team will end up as dinosaur fodder. Also along with the team, a family of four, (a father, his youngest daughter, his oldest daughter and her boyfriend.) who were sailing near the island where the dinosaurs are. Still well done maybe worth a look. I give it a 6 out of 10.
"ROOM 222" S1; E1: Richie's Story" (1969)
I've been watching a lot of the old 70's series, "Room 222" which has been streaming on YouTube and this one happens to be the pilot.The story goes Lloyd Haines, plays a great teacher at the school who has been informed. that one of his star pupils is stressing out because it has been discovered that he doesn't live in the district. So he must be sent to his district's zoned school. The school is described as inferior. Our student can stay if he can find a course, that is only taught at his one school and not he other. The course being taught at Walt Whitman only and not the other school is Hebrew. So the student can stay and as he is told to return to his class, at which point he yells out, "Shalom!"
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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:
Posse from hell (1961, Herbert Coleman)
The Cimarron kid (1951, Budd Boetticher)
Distant drums (1951, Raoul Walsh)
The lawman (1970, Michael Winner)
Mildly Enjoyed
Quick millions (1931, Rowland Brown)
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David Deal Enjoyed:
FRANKENSTEIN AND ME (96) - This famous ode to monster movies from a kid's point of view lives up to its reputation.
THE TERROR (63)
SPECTERS (87) - Subway work exposes a tomb beneath the Roman catacombs that contains… Evil. Archeologist Donald Pleasence is on top of the situation, well, as much as possible. Solid Italian Gothic inspired by Argento and Soavi. Good production design and locations. Worth a look.
DECISION AT SUNDOWN (57)
UFO'S: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE (74) - The release date of this speculative documentary is in question. This version appears to be a re-release since dates in 1976 are mentioned more than once. At any rate this is a non-stop barrage of UFO sighting information, some of it seemingly legitimate, some of it not so much. Either way, it is one of the more convincing of its subgenre. Features Rod Serling, Burgess Meredith, and Jose Ferrer.
BATTLE OF THE WORLDS (61)
THE BIG COMBO (55)
WINCHESTER 73 (50)
BULLITT (68)
THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS (53)
BOB LE FLAMBEUR (56)
Mildly enjoyed:
THE GIRL IN 313 (40) - Insurance investigator Kent Taylor falls in with pretty jewel thief Florence Rice. Or is it the other way around? Light crime 'n' romance programmer that won't leave a mark. Features Lionel Atwill, Kay Aldridge, Jack Carson, and a downbeat ending.
WAVES OF LUST (75)
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